Heroes and Villains
by protector91
Summary: In the fourth season finale, we saw how Isaac's new story was intended to end, but what happened in the chapters before it? This fic is my take on what his book might've been like.
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

Greetings dear readers. I know many of you probably skipped to the first chapter and are only just now taking a look at the prologue after finishing the book. I cannot blame you for wanting to jump straight into the story, however. After all, the realm of fairly tales is a wondrous place. It features gallant heroes like the dashing Prince Charming, well, depending on the who is telling the story anyway. Sometimes you get a prince like that one guy from Disney's Snow White, who wasn't even given a name and was a Deus Ex Machina if I ever saw one. Then come the terrifying villains such as The Mistress of all Evil, Maleficent, whose name actually means 'doing evil or harm'.

Now then, I hope you chose to read the prologue, so that you may understand my reasons for crafting the story the way I did. You see, in my many years of writing, I've come to notice that the well known fairy tales have, in a way, grown repetitive. Sure, the writers may change up a few details here or there, but after a while, watching the same heroes win over and over again can get dull. The question I ask you, dear readers, is what if the roles became switched? Can characters that we've always seen as villains be accepted as heroes? Can we accept seeing the heroes we've looked up to as despicable villains? The possibilities are endless and I invite you all to explore them with me. Of course, like all great stories, this one begins with the words, Once Upon a Time…


	2. Chapter 2

**The Evil Queen**

Light and Dark. Good and Evil. Right and Wrong. Two sides of the same coin. Everyday people flip that coin with the choices they make. The side the coin will land on is always a question mark and whatever side it is, you must be prepared to deal with the consequences. That's the funny thing about free will. We may sometimes feel like the universe is against us for how our lives turn out, but no one can make you do anything. Unless the person in question turns out to be The Evil Queen herself. A woman with skin as white as snow and a heart as black as night; the fairest and deadliest of them all, Snow White. Anyone that knew the truth behind her black heart is either dead or under her control.

Speaking of death, Snow currently rides to the site of an execution. The reasons for the execution are petty at best, but Snow does not care. She's in a bad mood and when she's in a bad mood people tend to die. Her carriage enters a small village and comes to a stop. A woman in a blood red cloak opens the carriage door and takes Snow's hand to assist her out.

"Thank you, Red," Snow thanks.

"You're welcome, my Queen," Red replies and curtseys. Snow chuckles at the gesture and enters the village. The villagers avert their gaze from Snow and Red as they travel to the center of the village where a young woman is tied to a pike and is surrounded by eight dwarves.

"Queen Snow," one of the Dwarves acknowledges and bows to her. She ignores him and approaches the prisoner. She looks over her once and the prisoner looks back at her with defiance in her eyes. Snow turns away from her prisoner and to the Dwarves.

"What is her name?" She asks.

"We don't know. She won't tell us," another one of the Dwarves answers. Snow turns to the Dwarf; expression unreadable.

"What's _your_ name?" She asks.

"Dopey your maje-ah!" His answer is cut short by Snow plunging her hand into his chest.

"Your majesty!" One of the Dwarves cries out.

"Do you wish to join him, Doc?" She says not taking her eyes off of Dopey. Doc gulps and shakes his head. "That's what I thought," and she pulls Dopey's heart from his chest. He collapses to his knees while Snow examines the heart.

"Oh. Oh no. This will never do," she says observing the heart. "Remind me, you Dwarves do everything together, am I right?" Dopey nervously nods. "Then care to explain the lack of dark spots in your heart? It looks so…pure. It's disgusting."

"Your Majesty," another Dwarf begins, but Snow shoots him an agitated look and he shuts up immediately. Snow looks back at the heart and starts to squeeze it. Dopey clutches his chest and cries out while Snow watches him; expression remaining unchanged.

Dopey's heart gradually loses color and then completely withers away; a pile of dust remaining in its wake. Dopey falls to the ground, dead. She looks back at the remaining Dwarves, who try to hide their shocked faces. "Sorry, but I have no use for goody goods in my Kingdom especially one named Dopey. Now then, where was I? Ah yes." She turns back to her unnamed prisoner.

"Get on with it," she says to Snow. Snow narrows her eyes at the prisoner and grabs her cheeks with her right hand.

"It's not wise to order your Queen," she coldly whispers. "There are fates far worse than death, my dear. Speaking of which, Red!" She calls out. Red steps forward and licks her lips at the sight of the prisoner.

"Is it time, my Queen?" She asks. Snow looks at the full moon in the sky and smirks.

"Yes," she replies. Red smirks as well and removes her cloak. Her eyes change color and glow in the night. She kneels to the ground and grits her teeth as claws replace her nails and fur gradually covers every inch of her body. The prisoner's eyes widen in fear and she turns away from Red.

"Don't look away now," Snow says. She grabs the prisoner's face and forces her to look at the transforming Red. "This is the best part." Red's teeth turn razor sharp, her quick breathes begin to sound like growls, a long tail sprouts from her behind, and finally her face changes to that of a wolf's. Red licks her lips again and then gives a loud howl at the moon.

"Music to my ears," Snow sighs. Everyone takes multiple steps back from the creature as she sets her sights on the prisoner. "Sic her girl," Snow commands. Red prepares to pounce when she suddenly stops and turns her attention towards the trees. She growls at it and Snow forms a fireball in the palm of her hands.

An arrow flies out from the trees and heads straight for Snow. She prepares to block it, but the arrow instead lands at her feet. The second it impacts with the ground a dark mist erupts from it and blankets the area.

"What is this!? I can't see!" Grumpy yells.

"It's magic you idiot! Secure the prisoner!" Snow screams struggling to see herself. The sound of a galloping horse breaks into the chaos followed by the sounds of the Dwarves all crying out. The mist finally starts to recede and Snow spots the prisoner escaping on a horse with a familiar rider.

"Red!" She calls out. The wolf shakes her head as the last traces of the mist fade away and faces Snow. "Kill!" She commands and the wolf gives chase after the pair.

"She's after us!" The prisoner warns her rescuer. The rescuer turns around at the pursuing wolf and the prisoner gets a brief look at her face.

"You're a girl," she realizes.

"Woman," the rescuer corrects her.

She hastens her horse putting a little bit more distance between them and Red as they reach an overturned tree blocking the road. The horse takes a great leap over the tree landing a few inches past it and continues on. Red jumps over the tree as well, but only lands an inch past it and a net immediately springs up capturing her. Red growls and snarls and begins trying to tear away at the net as the two women make their escape.

"That net should keep her occupied for a while. Reinforced it with a little bit of magic some fairies were willing to part with," the rescuer explains. They continue riding for a few more minutes looking back every now and then to make sure Red hadn't broken free sooner. Once she is certain they are safely away, the rescuer brings her horse to a stop.

"I don't know what you did to piss off Snow, but it's best that," before the rescuer can finish, the prisoner pulls her into a giant hug.

"Thank you so much for saving me, Ms…"

"Mills. Regina Mills," the rescuer answers pulling her hood down allowing the prisoner to get a better look at her face.

"Oh my God, you're Queen Snow's…."

"Yes, but I don't like to talk about it," Regina interrupts.

"I understand, but I am grateful and forever in your debt. I am called Marian," she introduces.

"Marian…you're part of Robin Hood's gang aren't you?"

"Yes…I apologize if he's stolen anything from you."

"Oh you don't have to worry about that. I'm as poor as they come. Snow has seen to that. Is Robin's camp far from here?"

"No. I should be able to find him without much trouble."

"Just incase, you better take this." Regina reaches into a pouch over her shoulder and pulls out a small bottle. "Pour it on your clothes and it'll keep Snow's bloodhound from tracking your scent; speaking from experience here."

"Thank you, once more," Marian says with a smile. She pulls her own hood over her head and goes for the cover of the trees. Regina watches her until she disappears and then heads out herself.


	3. Chapter 3

**Clap Your Hands**

Much to her surprise, Marian encountered none of Snow's guard on her way back to camp. She knew that things weren't always what they appeared to be, however, and kept her wits about her the entire trek. She even resorted to taking a more confusing path to the camp to throw off anyone that might be following her. After at least 30 minutes she finally exits the woods to the sight of Robin and his Merry Men all armed to the teeth.

"Hey guys," Marian says to get their attention. They all turn to the sound of her voice and she steps towards them.

"Halt," one of them orders aiming his bow at her. "Password."

Marian sighs. "Oo-De-Lally," she grumbles.

"Sorry. Didn't quite catch that," he chuckles.

"Will Scarlet, I'm warning you," she starts to threaten resulting in the other Merry Men raising their bows too. "OO-DE-LALLY!" Marian shouts.

"Shhh! Not so loud," Will laughs.

"Let's just get the rest of this test over with," Marian mutters.

"Zelena, if you will," Will requests of a beautiful red haired woman standing beside him. Zelena nods and steps up to Marian. She waves her hands in front of Marian's face and a red light washes over her body; nothing special happens.

"It's her," Zelena identifies. "Oh, thank goodness!" She yells in relief and puts Marian into a hug.

"Happy to see you too," Marian replies caught a little off guard. "What's with the heavy artillery? You all look like you're about to go to war."

"We were planning on taking the fight to Regina after we assumed you were dead," one of the men says removing his hood and Marian smiles.

"Robin."

"Always at your service," he states and Marian hugs him as well. "You have no idea how happy I am that you are safe. How did you manage to escape?" He asks.

"I didn't. Someone saved me."

"Who?"

"Your competition, Regina," Marian answers then notices Zelena's expression darken at the sound of the name. "Are you OK, Zelena?"

"Hm? Um, yes. I'm fine," she answers. "Robin, I'm tired," she says with a yawn.

"Yes, I suppose it has been a long night. Will, you're on guard duty for the night. The rest of you may turn in," Robin tells his men. Will rolls his eyes behind Robin's back. Marian watches Robin take Zelina's hand and lead her back to their shared tent.

"Remind me. What does he see in her?" Marian asks once Robin is out of earshot.

"I don't know what he sees inside, but I know what he sees outside," Will jokes and Marian gently shoves him.

"Robin might be a lot of things, but he's never been one to be attracted to looks alone."

"If that's the case, why did he leave you?" Marian glares at him and Will gulps. "I-I didn't mean to bring up any bad memories. I mean you have a wonderful personality and...I'll just go." Marian has a silent laugh to herself as he scurries off.

* * *

Snow marches into the deepest, darkest dungeon of her castle with a most unpleasant look on her face. Even when fireballs unintentionally form in her hands, she simply shakes them out without losing the rhythm of her steps. The people standing guard on this level divert their sight from her as she approaches a solitary cell. In the corner of the cell sits a lone prisoner. The prisoner sees Snow waiting outside and gives her a half smile.

"How nice of you to come visit little old me," the prisoner quips.

"This isn't a social visit," Snow specifies.

"It never is," the prisoner sighs and walks into the moonlight. The light illuminates the figure of a young woman with blonde hair, almost pale white skin, and tattered black clothes. "You can't keep me trapped here like this. I've never been separated from my lost boys for this long. Poor Tootles has probably lost his marbles worrying about me."

"Silence, Tinker Bell."

Tinker Bell looks hurt at those words and pretends to start crying. She then grabs the bars of her cell and pushes her face up against them. "So, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that your most recent execution was foiled by Regina right? Please tell me it was Regina. Pretty please," she requests giddy with excitement.

"Of course it was foiled by Regina only she had a little bit of help; as in magic of your variety."

"Kind of trapped in here if you're saying what I think you're saying," Tinker Bell laughs.

"I wouldn't put it past you to somehow break out, sabotage whatever I'm planning, and then come back like nothing was wrong."

"If that's what you believe then why don't you just kill me?" Snow responds to this question by grabbing Tinker Bell's cheeks. She gasps and her skin color somehow starts to grow even paler.

"I could do it you know," Snow whispers as the color starts to drain from Tinker Bell's eyes. "But I still need you and really, whatever you've done to help Regina has been a meaningless gesture. She's no closure to removing me from power since the day she tried poisoning me with that apple. Take that into consideration the next time you think about defying me." She releases Tinker Bell and she violently coughs as she falls to the floor and crawls away from the cell bars. "And just remember, there are worse fates than death, my dear," Snow finishes and leaves the dungeon.

As she leaves, the guards turn their attention back to Tinker Bell attempting to regain her composure. The two of them begin to share a laugh at her pain when one of them notices a stone block starting to be pushed out of the wall. He points to it and the two guards take position on either side of the block ready to ambush whomever is attempting to break in.

However, the block only goes a few inches out of the wall and stops. The guards exchange a look of confusion with one another and look back at the stone in time to see a pink mist floating in from the hole in the wall. Too late to cover their mouths, both guards collapse to the floor and the stone is then fully pushed out of the wall allowing a woman, who appears slightly older thank Tinker Bell, to slip into the dungeon.

"Tinker Bell. It's me," the woman whispers.

"It's not safe for you to be here, Blue. Snow's in one of her moods," Tinker Bell comments walking up to the cell bars again.

"Don't worry. I'll be in and out in no time, so let's do this," Blue says holding her hand out.

"Can we do it like we used to?" Tinker Bell asks.

"What? No."

"Pleeease?"

"No," Blue flatly turns down.

"Fine."

Tinkerbell takes Blue's hand. A small light envelopes Tinker Bell then traverses to and encircles Blue. She inhales deeply at the power coursing into her and after a few more seconds pass, she lets go of Tinker Bell's hand. She grabs her head as the room starts to spin and takes hold of the bars to keep herself steady.

"I'm sorry, Tink. I promise I'll get you out of here soon, so that you'll never have to do that again," Blue says.

"Thanks. It'd be nice to get _something_ out of this give and take relationship of ours," Tinker Bell mutters.

"Hey." Blue tilts Tinker Bell's head up. She leans forward and kisses her. "I will come back for you. Consider that my bond."

"You could've just done that to begin with," Tinker Bell says smiling dreamily.

"I'd rather you be smiling when I kiss you; not doubling over in pain." Blue kisses her again and Tinker Bell isn't sure if she feels dizzy from the transfer or from this. Blue breaks away from her, puts the stone back into place, and then disappears in a whiff of blue smoke.

* * *

Blue appears in the dark corner of a mine. She slowly inches forward to get a better look at the environment and sees several Dwarves plunging their pick axes into the Earth. She spots one Dwarf away from the others and quietly sneaks over to him. She reaches into a bag over her shoulder and pulls pink dust from it. She blows on it and the dust encircles the man's head.

"Nighty night," Blue whispers as the guard faints.

She catches him and gently lays him on the ground. She takes up his pick ax and nods in approval at the crystals the guy has unearthed. She readies to strike them when she hears someone coming at her from behind. She spins around swinging the ax hitting the guard's sword knocking him off balance and to the ground.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the Blue Fairy. Or should I say Ex-Blue Fairy," the guard insults dusting himself off and standing to his feet.

"And if it isn't Prince Charmless himself, David Nolan," Blue retorts ready to strike again.

David chuckles and lets out a whistle; several guards race into the area surrounding the woman. "Tell me, gentlemen. Do you believe in fairies?" He asks. They respond by drawing their swords. "That's what I thought," he says; a wide smirk on his face.


End file.
